Stacy hung up the phone. For the hundredth time she thought to herself, “What am I going to do?” As a midlevel project manager, she worked daily with peers, clients, direct reports, and her supervisor. The difficulty seemed to be coming from above. He’s a good guy. She actually likes him on a personal level. But he’s driving her nuts. He was fairly competent in his previous position, but this promotion has been a huge mistake. He simply does not have the leadership ability or management skills to function effectively. And he is not likely going away any time soon. So she is stuck in the middle, or at least that is how it feels. She has responsibility without authority, and the folks around her seem to lack any accountability. She is tired of coming behind everyone and finishing their work, bringing it up to standard. After all, “We don’t want to provide the client with inferior products and services.”

The question she brings to coaching is, “How can I stay in my current position without going crazy?” This question leads to others, such as “What do you believe your options to be?” and “What is your ideal future?” Coaching helped her answer these questions, and the others that followed, until she was able to identify a path forward that she could walk with confidence, and that brought her a feeling of peace and professional satisfaction. She decided that she would stay, and is able to do so without going crazy!

Some coaching questions arising from this situation:

• Describe your ideal outcome in this situation.
• Who else in your life reminds you of your boss? Describe your relationship with that person.
• Habits include attitudes, beliefs, feelings, thoughts, and the words and actions arising from them. How might a change of habit in one or more of these areas help?